New homes consented in July year jump 21%, led by standalone houses

New home consents continue growing strongly, according to the latest building consent data from Statistics NZ.

This shows 3579 new dwellings were consented throughout the country in July, up 10% compared to July last year.

In the 12 months to July this year, 40,908 dwellings were consented , up 21% on the previous 12 months.

Standalone houses remain the most popular type of new dwelling, with 18,884 consented in the 12 months to July, up 20% on the previous 12 months. That's followed by a 23% rise in townhouses and home units to 17,829, an 11% rise in apartments to 2509, a 14% rise in retirement village units to 1686.

Around the regions, Auckland topped the list with 17,260 dwellings consented in the year to July, up 20% on the previous 12 months, followed by Canterbury with 8732, up 33%, Waikato 3226, up 15%, Otago 2950, up 21% and Wellington Region 2301, up 17%.

The high level of growth in Canterbury was driven by consents in both Christchurch City and Selwyn District.

Nationally, 7.7 new dwellings were consented for every 1000 residents in the 12 months to July this year, up from 6.4 in the previous 12 months.

The charts below show the monthly trends in dwelling consents by region and by the types of dwellings being consented.